Cocoa Puffs?
by ercarterfan
Summary: Carter, Abby and an empty box of cereal? Not a good way to start a morning. Single chapter Carby story. So who's upset there's no cocoa puffs?
1. Default Chapter

Cocoa Puffs?

Abby had been up for a couple of hours now. She sat curled up in a chair watching the snow softly falling from the sky, as she sipped from the coffee cup that she held onto. An anatomy book lay in her lap but she was not able to concentrate on it just yet. The snow had captured her attention and mesmerized her. A sound from the kitchen caught her attention as she turned to see Carter half-asleep still rummaging thru the kitchen cabinets.

"What are you looking for?" Abby asked.

"Where are the cocoa puffs?" He grumbled.

"We are out of them Carter." She smiled at him.

"What I gotta have my cocoa puffs." He snipped back at her.

"Honey, it's gotta have my pops."

"I don't want pops, I want cocoa puffs." He was extremely snippy this morning. The shift before had gone terrible and he was not in the mood this morning to banter with anyone, especially since he had not gotten the chance to have his cocoa puffs. "Is it too much to ask that there be cocoa puffs in the house for breakfast?"

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." She said back to him, turning her attention back to the book that lay in her lap.

"So what if I did?"

"That doesn't give you the right to take it out on me." She spat back at him. She was not going to let Carter take his foul mood out on her.

Carter grumbled something under his breath and walked back into the bedroom. He lay back down in the bed and pulled the sheets up over his head. He was not ready to face the world just yet.

"Get up Carter." Abby yelled from her chair in the living room.

"NO!" Was the response that she got back?

"You have to be to work in an hour!" Abby hollered at him again.

"And if I don't want to." Carter said.

"Get your ass out of my bed right now. I am not your mother Carter." Abby yelled.

"Got that right." He snipped as he pulled the sheets back and started towards the shower.

"What crawled up your ass and died Carter." She snapped.

His response to her was the door slamming shut behind him as he turned the radio on and started the shower. He climbed in and let the hot water run down his body. He turned on the radio that was hanging in the shower. The song that was playing on the radio was one that he hadn't heard in a long time.

He found the grumpiness from earlier starting to fade. Suddenly it wasn't that important that he wasn't able to have his cocoa puffs for breakfast before showering. He listened to the words of the song. Unaware that the bathroom door had opened and Abby had slipped inside.

Carter could see Abby's shadow moving on the other side of the glass. He heard her voice start to sing extremely off key with the radio. He found himself amused yet mesmerized with her seductive motions. "The only thing I want, the only thing I need, the only thing I choose, the only thing that looks good on me is you."

Her shadow disappeared from the glass and he felt her arms around his waist holding onto him from behind.

Carter spun her around so that she was in front of him. "put those patent leather pants in the circular file sometimes I think I might be looking good, but there's only one thing that fits like it should, the only think that looks good on me it you."

Abby smiled as she noticed that Carter's bad mood had slipped down the drain with the dirty water. He might not have his cocoa puffs but he had her. Carter brought his lips down onto Abby's and kissed her. "I might not have my cocoa puffs, but you're all I need."


	2. Burning the Midnight oil

**Burning the midnight oil**

Abby had been working some seriously crazy hours. Those hours left her very little time for studying and she was getting paranoid about the boards that were looming in the background. Half the time she didn't know if she was coming or if she was going. One shift she might have been a nurse and then 12 hours later shifting gears to be a medical student. The long hours were starting to wear on her and she was getting crabbier with each passing shift.

"Abby," Susan called as she came around the corner with a chart in her hand, "can you start a line on the patient in four, for me?"

"Sorry not for another four hours." Abby replied looking up from the chart that she had in her hands.

"Sorry med student right now?" Susan asked looking at Abby; the dark circles were getting darker under her friends eyes. And Susan could see how the rugged schedule was starting to take its toll on Abby.

"Yeah, med student for another four hours and then," Abby rolled her eyes, "I will be everyone's favorite nurse once again."

"You don't seem too happy about that." Susan said. "But then you look like you could use a nap. Burning the candles at both ends just isn't good for you."

"Working at County just is not good for anyone. A nap, that would be nice but it's not going to happen any time soon." Abby said putting the chart back into the rack. "Too much to do and too little time."

"When we the last time that you actually did sleep?" Susan asked she was a little worried with the number of hours that Abby was spending at the hospital; she knew that Abby had to be reaching the point of exhaustion.

"Uh, I think it was yesterday, I got in about a three hour nap. I'm a med student since when did med students get the luxury of sleep. I'll get some when I am done working my shifts; it's really not that big of a deal." Abby said picking up another chart.

"Three hours in the last 24 hours, you should know that's not good for you." Susan replied. "Just because you are a medical student doesn't mean that you should be going with out that much sleep. Everyone needs to sleep."

"Yeah, well not being able to pay the bills isn't good for me either. I need the hours there mom," She replied back trying to hide any shortness that she might have been feeling from her voice. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry I am not working more than 36 hours at any given time."

"You should go grab a nap, we are slow right now." Susan said reaching to take the chart from her. "Go on take advantage of the down time; it doesn't come along very often."

Abby snapped it back, "no I can do this. I can carry my own weight; I don't need any special favors."

"I'm not doing you any kind of special favor," Susan said reaching again for the chart, "as the attending on right now I am telling you that you need to go and take a short nap, or you are not going to be any good for anyone. I can't have my med students collapsing from being exhausted; you're too good of a student and too good of a nurse to have that happen."

Abby tried not to growl as she handed over the chart to Susan, throwing her hands up in the air, "fine, but I really don't need it and I am only doing it because I know that you won't let up until I do."

Susan turned to head off to take care of what patients were in the ER right now, "what can I say you know me too well, however, you might not think that you do, but you'll thank me for this later."

Abby reluctantly headed off to find a quiet exam room, closing the door and turning off the light as she laid down to take a short nap. She laid her pager next to her head knowing full well that if they needed her that they would come and get her.

_The ER following morning…._

"I got it." Abby said taking the chart as Pratt rattled off orders to Abby. She was swamped changing gears in her last few hours of being a nurse. She glanced at her watch an in an hour she'd be back to being a med student again. She would then be off tonight at seven so that she could catch up on her reading and some sleep.

"Abby can you start a line for me in three?" Carter asked as he walked by her.

"Yeah in a minute, what am I the only nurse on the floor?" Abby rolled her eyes as her work load started to overwhelm her somewhat. It seemed as if every doctor in the ER wanted her to do something even if she already had a full patient load, for some reason Abby was in demand today.

"Nope, you are just the best nurse on the floor and it's a four year old that I was hoping you could start it on." Carter said looking at her over her chart.

"Ah well I'm glad that you seem to think that," Abby said rather sarcastically. "I will get to it when I can okay." She was shorter with him that she meant to be but things were not going well. "I have my hands full right now and you will have to take your place in the ever growing line."

Carter looked at her for a minute, "come on let's go get something to eat? When we the last time you ate anything."

"Oh no, not you too." Abby said taking a few steps back, "I can't go get anything to eat right now. I have to take care of Pratt's patient and you want a line started on your patient, and then I have four more that I am taking care off to. I can't just drop everything and go and eat right now. I have way to much that I need to do right now, so eating with you is not going to happen."

"Not me too, what's that suppose to mean?" He looked at her with concern on his face, he couldn't help it, and he knew that she was working herself to death right now with the hours that she was trying to carry.

"Susan is worried about me and she thought that I needed to take a nap, and now here you are thinking that I need to go and eat." Abby said, "I don't need you both trying to take care of me, really I have everything under control. I am going to finish this shift and then I am going to go home and take a three hour bubble bath and eat."

"I'm won't lie and say that I'm not worried about you." Carter said, "I just thought that maybe we could get something to eat. You know everyone needs to eat not just you. We don't have to do it right now we can do it in a hour or when you have some time."

Abby looked at him for a minute unsure of what to say to that one. It took her a minute to figure out what to say. "Yeah maybe later, I just don't have time right now okay."

"Yeah that's fine." Carter said backing off, "maybe I can get you some take out or something when we get home."

Abby was already heading down the hall to get some more of her ever growing patient pile up. "That's fine Carter."

Abby threw herself back into her work, hoping that the time would fly by so that she could get home and relax before starting this all over again tomorrow. Some days it seemed never ending, that the hours she needed would never be enough and she was worried with tuition coming due about making ends continue to meet. She would need to pick up a few more nursing shifts than what she already had if she was going to make everything work.


	3. You didn't have to do that

**You didn't have to do that**

The long shift continued and Abby kept running herself into the ground. She was trying to pick up as many nursing shifts as she could, but the more that she worked, the more tired she got. She still was going to end up being short to pay spring tuition and right now she was running out of options.

Carter just kept watching her work; he wanted to help her out but knew that she probably wouldn't willingly take the help. He knew that she wasn't going to be able to make tuition, he had overheard a conversation that she had, had with Kerry. He could help with that and he reached the decision to do something about it with out talking to Abby first.

He knew that she was probably going to be very mad at him for this one, but he couldn't let her keep working herself into the ground like she was. She had very little time for studying working twenty-four to thirty-six hours straight in order to make the shifts that she thought she needed and any down time that she had she usually had her nose buried in a book trying to keep up with the studying that she needed to do as well.

They were both working and their were ample patients in the ER today most of the cases that they had today were minors it had turned into a slow trauma day and you couldn't help but be thankful for that. There was something about the day lacking bloody traumas that just made it go a little easier, and maybe that's because patients were less likely to die from the minor cases than the complicated near death ones.

"Hey Abby," Carter said as he crossed through the ER heading back towards the admit desk. He was meandering a little but today he was giving the med students and the interns a little more in the patient care department, he was more in an overseeing mode and letting them do most of the work.

"What Carter?" She asked as she looked up from the chart that she was looking at to see him standing not more than five feet away from her now.

"The patient in two, is that one yours?" Carter asked glancing between the chart that was in his hands and her.

"Yeah he's mine." Abby said, "is there something wrong? Did I miss something?"

"No you didn't miss anything." He said holding the chart out to her. "I signed off on it for you."

"Oh well thanks." Abby said.

"You're plan looks good go ahead with it." Carter picked up another chart. He wasn't trying to be condescending with her but it was a feeble attempt to let her know that she was doing a good job.

She just shrugged her shoulders. She knew what she was doing and hearing him say that really didn't do much for her. She didn't think that he would have disagreed with her plan. It was just an ear infection. There wasn't many options when it came right down to it.

The morning turned in afternoon and during his lunch break Carter decided that it was time to take action. He paid Abby's tuition for her, getting her caught up until graduation so that she could take a few less nursing shifts and focus on other things.

Abby was looking over the nursing schedule now to see if there was any way that she could pick up maybe one or two more shifts, there were none that she could take that they needed filled because the conflicted with her rotation. She wasn't sure what she was going to do now.

Carter found her again later that afternoon, "want to go to dinner tonight?"

"Can't Carter." She said looking at him, "I have to work tonight and then try and see if I can't find a few more shifts." She placed the chart back into the rack, "I'm going to see if maybe I can't float some up in OB."

Carter bit his lip as he tried to figure out how to say this, "still worried about making tuition?" It was a rather dumb question but it would lead them into the conversation that he needed to have with her.

"You know I am." She said not looking at him anymore as she tried to concentrate on what she was doing.

"You don't have to." He said, "it's all taken care of."

Abby looked at him for a minute, "you are kidding me Carter?" She said softly, "what you didn't?"

He backed a step away from her fully expecting Abby to smack him. "Yeah I kind of did."

"Carter you shouldn't have done that." She said this was something that she wanted to do herself. But now that it was done there wasn't much that she could do about it now even if she wanted to. She let out a giant sigh, "I'll pay you back Carter."

"You don't have to do that Abby." Carter said. He didn't want to have this conversation with her right now, not while they were both working in the ER. "We can talk about this later okay?" He softly kissed her cheek now.

Abby was definitely upset with what he had done. She knew why he had done it but that didn't make her any happier with the situation that she had found herself in. She wished that he would have just let her handle this herself.

She went back to work, trying not to think about what he had done, but it was in the front of her mind no matter what he did. As she worked she found herself thinking that if he had just talked to her that they might have been able to come to some sort of an agreement, but he decided that he would just take care of it on his own. Carter had a point though, she was arguing with herself right now. She wouldn't have been receptive to the idea of him paying it and she probably would have told him no anyway.

There had to have been another reason that he had done it, paid her tuition that is. Did he feel that he owed it to her for some reason? She wasn't sure what to think anymore. She just wanted to stop thinking about it.

Carter finished up his shift and then waited for Abby in the lounge. He knew that she said she was working tonight but eventually she would have to come in there. She finally showed her face in the lounge as she got herself a cup of coffee.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked, pretty sure what the answer to that one would be. It was written on her face when she looked at him.

"Mad at you?" She repeated back to him. "I'm not sure what I am right now. I think that I just want to know why you did it?"

"You were wearing yourself pretty thin trying to cover all those shift and I thought that since I could help you that it made sense to do it." Carter said.

"Oh so you did it because you were worried about my health?" Abby asked.

"That is part of it." Carter said. "It was something that I could do. I thought that you might like the chance to have the time to sleep, to study, without worrying about how you were going to pay for tuition. I thought that you might like the break."

"It's not that I don't appreciate what you have done Carter." Abby said looking at him. "But I am still going to have to take on some nursing shifts at least until I graduate so that I can pay the bills."

"Why won't you let me help with anything Abby?" Carter asked looking at her. "I mean we are living together, there's no reason that you couldn't let me help with things a little more than I am."

"Yeah well," Abby said not sure what to say, "I guess I like to do things myself. And you do still have your own apartment, so we're not really living together you just spend most of your time over at the apartment."

"That could change." Carter said, "we've been dating for awhile things are going good between us, there's no reason we should maintain separate living spaces."

Abby took a few steps back away from him now. "I don't think so Carter." She wasn't ready at this point in her life to take that step with the relationship, that would make it seem to permanent and she didn't want to do that. She was too scared to take that step.

"Why not?" Carter asked.

"I'm not ready; I don't want to make things permanent like that yet." She said being serious with him.

"What would change?" Carter asked not seeing why she was having such a hard time with this. "Other than the fact that I would no longer have an apartment."

"It means that you would always be at the one that is currently my apartment." Abby said looking at him; it was her turn to turn off the conversation. "I have to get back to work Carter; we can talk about this later."

"Okay sure," He said standing up off the couch. He wasn't sure which apartment that he was going to go back to odds were that he would end up back at hers just because that's where he always seemed to end up these days.

"I'll be home later." Abby said giving the hint where she expected him to be if he wanted to talk to her, "I'm off as soon as I finish this shift."

"Yeah I guess then I will see you when you are off." He replied back.

"Yeah you will." She said as she darted back out the door to go back to work. She wasn't looking forward to having that conversation with him and she knew that he would, as he always did, find flaws in her ways of thinking. They could for the most part get along, but Carter it seemed, was always right.


	4. The Trouble with Boards

**The trouble with boards.**

Without the worries of tuition looming over her Abby was able to slow down some, which in its own was a good thing. She turned her attention more to her med student studies as she started to prepare to take the medical boards.

She had given in some to Carter and allowed him to have his request of moving in and taking their relationship to another plain. She wasn't thrilled with it, but it seemed to make him happy and right now as long as they were both happy she didn't see anything wrong with it.

She was sitting snacking on some chips with her nose in a book as she worked on reviewing the material that would probably be on the damn test. She was not looking forward to this giant comprehensive exam that covered everything that she had learned in the last four years.

Carter came home from work, tossing his things onto the table by the door, "studying hard?" He half asked as he noticed she was sitting with her nose in yet another book.

"Yeah I am." She said, "sorry."

"Nah, don't be sorry." He said, "I think I had my nose in a book all the time when I was getting ready to take them too."

"Yeah is it too late to change my mind about all of this?" She joked softly with him.

"Yeah I would think that after you put in that fourth year there is no turning back from this."

Abby smiled at him softly now as she kept reading. "Whose bright idea was it to make you take a test that covers everything that you have learned in four years. You would think that they could break this up a little, give you half during the third year and then half during the fourth year."

"If they did that they would never weed anyone out." He said giving her a small smile. "You'll do just fine. I know that you will be able to relax here soon after you pass them with flying colors."

"Yeah," she said glancing quickly up at him and then back down into the book again, "I'm glad that you seem to think that."

Carter crossed over to where she was sitting and softly kissed the top of her head, "I have all the faith in the world in you Abby." He said, "you're a very bright woman when you want to be."

"When I want to be?" She said with an odd look on her face.

"When you want to be, you have a tendency to be stubborn, over analytical, to worry about things to much." He said. "You are going to be just fine."

She just shook her head. She had two weeks until she was scheduled to take the boards and she was nervous about the whole process. It was a lot that she had to try and remember and she didn't know if she could or would be able to remember it all.

The time flew by fast than Abby thought it would be and she just didn't think that she was ready to take the boards but the time for taking them had arrived. She stood outside where she was to check in and felt her hands shaking. She took a deep breath as she finished checking in and headed over to take the exams.

She paced herself taking her time as she answered them. She fought the urge to second guess herself cause she knew that usually your first instinct was the right one. After what felt like an eternity of reading and writing she finished her exam. She was not overly confident about how she had done.

She made the trip across town back to the apartment. She was tired and her head was pounding from having to take the tests. Tests had always stressed her out and this wasn't just any ordinary exam these were the boards and you had to pass them in order to practice medicine, it didn't matter if graduated or not, if you didn't pass the boards you couldn't continue on.

She walked up the stairs now heading for her home. Her feet seemed overly heavy now as she was second guessing several of the answers that she had put down on the exam. There was nothing that she could do about it now other than hope that she passed. She really needed to pass those boards.

The lights were off when she walked inside the apartment. She looked around and didn't see Carter but the smell that was emanating from the apartment where wonderful. "John?" She called out as she walked further inside.

Carter emerged from back near the bathroom. "Hey you." He said walking over and wrapping his arms around her pulling her into a hug.

"What's all this?" Abby asked.

"I thought that after your boards you deserved something special." Carter said taking her hand and leading her back towards the bathroom. "A bubble bath for you." He said.

The bathroom was full of soft burning candles creating a very relaxing atmosphere. There was soft music playing. It looked as if Carter had put a lot of thought into this, "it looks wonderful John." Abby said as she kicked off her shoes.

"Dinner is in the kitchen waiting for you when you finish your bath." Carter said, "but don't rush, if you want a three hour bath then you by all means take a three hour bath." He smiled softly at her now. "I want you to have some time to relax now."

She smiled at him as she watched him back out of the bathroom. She was surprised that he was going to leave the room, she didn't expect that. "Thank you Carter."

From the door way she heard him call back to her, "you're welcome Abby enjoy your bath." And with that he left her to the peace and quiet of the room.

Abby undressed and sank down into the hot water that was in the tub. It felt good to just unwind for a few minutes. She laid there closing off her mind so that she wasn't thinking of anything right now. And for the first time in months she was able to completely and totally unwind, forgetting about the boards. Right now she didn't have a care in the world.

She just floated there letting the warmth of the water. The house seemed so quiet right now and she didn't know how Carter had managed to make everything just so perfect right now. The smell in the bathroom right now was the perfect combination of Jasmine and Vanilla. She had nothing to complain about. Everything right now seemed absolutely perfect. She didn't know how long it would stay that way but right now Abby had no complaints.


End file.
